Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) Sets New 1-Year High at $117.86

Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $117.86 and last traded at $117.00, with a volume of 217917 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $112.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SCCO. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southern Copper from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Southern Copper from $61.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southern Copper from $63.50 to $61.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Southern Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.83.

Southern Copper Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.29. The stock has a market cap of $89.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.15). Southern Copper had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 30.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Southern Copper Co. will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Copper Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 12th. Southern Copper’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southern Copper by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 302 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern Copper during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Southern Copper in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 7.94% of the company’s stock.

Southern Copper Company Profile

Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead.